Red Bluff Blast Xplosion beat opponents from the Bay Area

The Red Bluff Blast Xplosion U10 girls soccer team pose with their first-place trophy last weekend at the Union City Heat Wave Tournament. The team is coached by Steve Bronze (left) and Candice Carr.

Contributed photo

The Red Bluff Blast Xplosion, a first-year girls U10 traveling soccer team, defeated three of the Bay Area's top teams in the Union City Heat Wave Championship Tournament last Sunday, taking home a first-place trophy and bragging rights.

After the first day of play, the Blast found the level of competition in the Bay Area to be very aggressive. The girls managed to beat and tie the top two seeded teams and pull ahead in points during the second day of the tournament.

The Heat Wave Tournament offers a more competitive and aggressive venue in soccer and the level of play is intimidating even for seasoned players and coaches.

The team is not without experienced players. The Blast is comprised of three from the Anderson Serpents who have competed successfully in winning the District IX Cup and the State Championship Founders Cup. They added a skill level that blended with the existing talent on the team and created a strong fit and balance on offense and defense.

Scoring by Kalie Doane and Kylie Carr made the difference in the initial series of games with Diana Stevens making the winning penalty kick in the second overtime period to win the championship game.

Outstanding defense by Megan Patton, Haley Bramante and Abbey Lair added to the balance of a winning effort. Saxon Rivinious and the rest of the team played tired and hurt, but all who watched the tournament would agree that even though the Blast was outsized and playing teams with more experience. In the end speed and endurance made the difference for the team.

One player who was credited with the bulk of great play was goalie Kiah Foster who repeatedly stopped almost certain goals in all four games and rallied in the penalty kicks, blocking seven of eight attempts to hold the opposition. The whole team acknowledged her great play and extraordinary effort in the series.

Veteran coach Steve Bronze was more than pleased with the effort and results from his first-year team.

"They played four very tough and hard-fought games against teams with a lot more practice than our Red Bluff squad," he said. "The size differential alone looked more like David and Goliath than a pair or U10 girls soccer teams."

The Blast Xplosion left a lasting impression on the Bay Area teams, one that will prove interesting in the fall when the team returns to defend its championship status in the September Heat Wave event.

For all Anderson, Cottonwood and Red Bluff girls interested in moving to a traveling team, the Blast Xplosion is holding its fall team tryouts from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday and May 11. For details contact sbronzee@gmail.com.

This story is contributed by a member of the Redding community and is neither endorsed nor affiliated with the Redding Record Searchlight.